Parents to Pay More for Their Pampers, Luvs Diapers

[1]Though the price for packs of Procter & Gamble‘s (PG[2]) Luvs and Pampers diapers won’t be going up, parents will still find their wallets lighter in the long term[3].

That’s because the consumer products giant is cutting the number of diapers on each package. Beginning with packages shipped on September 16, the number of diapers in a 140-pack box will drop by eight. While the price for the package remains the same, each diaper inside will now cost 6% more. Other packs will see similar cuts. Overall, the downsizing move will raise prices between 5% and 7% across all Pampers and Luvs packages, the Wall Street Journal notes.

Diapers are a huge business for Procter & Gamble. It’s high-end Pampers brand generates more than $10 billion in annual revenue.

The move comes as the company looks to boost margins as part of an effort by new CEO A.G. Lafley to improve results[4].

Procter & Gamble says it has increased the absorbency of the diapers, leading to the high price per diaper. The company last hiked diaper prices in 2011, raising them by about 7%.

Last month, Procter & Gamble launched a new home pregnancy test, which can assess whether a woman is pregnant and provide a rough estimate of how many weeks have passed from her last ovulation[5].